When the Catholic Church embraces green policies

“It’s good to see the Catholic Church laying claim to this heritage of caring for creation”, writes Mary Kenny

I heard a sincere and impassioned sermon in Dublin at the weekend in which the priest spoke about defending the environment: this, he said, was following in the footsteps of Pope Francis and St Francis himself. He urged the congregation to “put pressure on the politicians” on the environmental issues. He suggested eating less meat – maybe giving up meat, even. He received a round of applause: there were quite a few young people in the congregation.

I am all in favour of our being responsible stewards of the Earth and I think it’s terrific that Pope Francis is bringing leadership to wider green politics. As the priest in the pulpit said, Christianity has always worked with nature – St Patrick was a remarkable example of that.

It’s good to see the Catholic Church laying claim to this heritage of caring for creation. Green politics, worldwide, has been overly influenced and dominated by the population control lobby; they suggest the answer to caring for the planet is to reduce the population everywhere – perhaps even levying an extra tax on any family with more than two children.

People can also be suspicious of environmental policies if they imply extra taxes. And sometimes, you wonder if environmentalism is used as an excuse for extra charges: my British Gas bill in Kent is usually eye-watering and I notice that a percentage of the quarterly sum demanded includes “environmental taxes” – to be remitted by the customer rather than by the utility’s soaring profits.

Probably the simplest and most direct action each of us could take to help the environment is to stop wasting food. Food wastage is a huge burden on the ecological cycle and unjust to the poor: every time you buy a parsnip at a supermarket, scores of such vegetables have been chucked away because they don’t comply with notional ‘quality control’.

The ‘buy one, get one free’ – BOGOF – offers have been responsible for scandalous food waste: studies have shown that customers often don’t consume the second item they obtain ‘free’ – not free to the farmer or fisherman who produces the food.

Eating less beef would impoverish Irish farmers, and is surely a complex, long-term environmental policy: tackling food wastage is something we could all do, today and every day.

BREXIT concerns

Business people in Northern Ireland are concerned that the border will become an obstacle to trade if Britain exits the European Union and the Republic of Ireland remains. This is, and always has been, an excellent argument for a united Ireland.

Sceptical views on elections

More than 100 years ago, Hilaire Belloc wrote an amusing verse expressing his somewhat sceptical views On a General Election:

“The accursed power which stands on Privilege

(And goes with Women, and Champagne and Bridge)

Broke – and Democracy resumed her reign:

(Which goes with Bridge, and Women and Champagne).”

“Women and champagne”, in the 1900s, meant carousing around in pampered luxury. Of course, this notion that one party does much the same as another in power is not applicable at all to our dear democracy!

Power of Christian prayer

The biologist – and “celebrity atheist” – Richard Dawkins recently suffered from a stroke; on social media, many Christians posted messages saying they were praying for him. The Church of England endorsed this idea of offering prayers for his recovery; and so, a spokesman from the C of E was summoned to be cross-examined by John Humphreys on the BBC’s news programme Today.

Mr Humphrys, famous as a tough inquisitor, tackled the mild-mannered Anglican official, asking if this wasn’t just a gloating exercise in sarcasm and scoffing. No, no, Christians were enjoined to pray for all, came the reply. Humphrys sounded unconvinced: it’s taken for granted now that people of faith are suspected of being people of bad faith.

Dawkins himself issued no objection, and is making a recovery. Actually, around Christmas time he had said that while his convictions remain unchanged, he now felt a kind of affection for the beauty of church services which he had heard as a child – the hymns, the poetic language.

Hymns, beauty and poetic language play such a vital role in uplifting the human spirit, and awakening the soul.